A Girl You Never Noticed
by RockingCass12
Summary: Young tomboy Winry Rockbell travels to Paris to take her mind off things and undergoes remarkable changes. She still harbours feelings for her childhood friend Alphonse Elric, but not before his business focused brother Edward has anything to say about it. Based on the 1995 movie Sabrina.
1. Move away to move on

**Hi Edwin fans, it's a pleasure for me to present to all of you my third FMA fanfiction which also happens to be my third Edwin fanfic. Don't judge haha.**

**So this fic is a lil different from the other writes I've done. It's a bit more serious than all my fics, saying that I will not neglect my characters humour and a few silly scenes are a definite. **

**So as you read in the summary this story is based on the 1995 movie Sabrina. I didn't copy everything from the movie just the parts that are important like the Narrating and a few conversations, otherwise I tried to tweek this into a story of my own. **

**Long AN sorry but three things to keep in mind (1) Winry is British (I love imagining her speak with a British accent) (2) she has short hair in the beginning (3) Winry is the Narrator. **

**To start off this fic, *cough***

**I do not own the anime Fullmetal Alchemist or the 1995 movie Sabrina, nor do I wish to make profit over this story.  
**

* * *

_Once upon a time,_

_On the North Shore of New Island, some 30 miles from New York, there was a very large estate. The estate was home to the Elric family. And in this estate a small girl sat near the fountain, all alone._

_The estate was very large and had many servants _

_There were gardeners to take care of the gardens and a tree surgeon on a retainer. There was a boatman to out the boats in the water in the spring and scrape their bottoms in winter._

_There were specialists to take care of the grounds, the outdoor tennis court and the indoor tennis court, the outdoor swimming pool, and the indoor swimming pool. And a man of no particular title took care if a small pool in the garden for a goldfish named Alexander_

_Also on the waste there was a mechanic and chauffeur by the name of Rockbell who had been imported from England years ago. Rockbell was a fine employee of considerable precision and polish, like the eight cars in her care. And she had a granddaughter by the name of. . . Winry_

* * *

_It was the eve of the of the annual six-metre-yacht races and, as had been traditional for many years, the Elric's were giving a party. It had never rained on the night of the Elric's party. The Elric's wouldn't have stood for it. There were four Elric's in all. Father, mother and two sons._

_Hohenheim and Trisha Elric were married for 19 years, ending it when Mrs Elric passed away. It's been 3 years since then. But when they had been wed among their many wedding presents was a town house in New York and this estate for weekends. The town house has since been converted into Saks Fifth Avenue._

_Edward Elric, the eldest son, graduated from Harvard at age 18. Prodigy voted in high school as 'the most likely to succeed in life before 20'. Splitting image of his father but personality wise was the opposite; he was a good man but was rather shrewd especially regarding his humour. He was depended on by his family, nevertheless he didn't mind doing so because he promised he would._

_His brother, Alphonse, just as smart maybe smarter in some categories but didn't attend a university but actually several Eastern colleges for short periods of time. And had several girlfriends for an even shorter period of time. He is now a successful six-goal polo player and is listed on Edward's tax return as a $ deduction. He was the sweeter sibling but some may confuse his kindness with flirting which has gotten him into some odd situations with woman he hardly knew._

_Life was pleasant among the Elric's. For this was as close to heaven as one could get on Long Island._

A young blonde woman of 21 was though not attending the party but sitting in a tree watching the events over the hedge, as the chauffeur's granddaughter that would be absurd for her to be a guest. The blonde woman played with her short hair rubbing the stray split ends and adjusting her bandanna to stop it shifting onto her face. The girl was a tomboy by the looks of her khaki shorts and her 'hold my purse while I beat up your boyfriend' t-shirt. But was a beauty though, with her bright cerulean blue eyes, gorgeous bright blonde hair to her petite yet curvy body.

"Come on down from there, Winry! Come on" the elderly lady called to her granddaughter.

The blonde girl looked down and frowned she turned her attention back to what she was looking at before interrupted. Her blue orbs settled on a dancing couple.

"Granny, who is that girl dancing with Alphonse?"

Pinako Rockbell scowled at her granddaughter's obsession and nosiness; regardless she answered the question "Her name is Julia Crichton"

Winry angrily looked at the red head beauty who was swooning over the younger Elric. Even her laugh pissed Winry off. "I hate girls that giggle all the time."

"You hate every girl Alphonse looks at, last time it was the Xingese girl if I remember correctly." Her older woman's brow creased with irritation. "You can't go on like this about Alphonse. You've got to get over it" her grandmother looked serious and concerned for the young ones wellbeing.

Winry sighed out of defeat "Yes, grandmother"

She exited the tree with ease; her gran laughed at the girl's antic and sighed out of relief. "It's good you're leaving for a while. I only hope it's far enough"

"Yes, grandmother"

"Come along, Winry"

"In a minute. You go ahead. I'll be up in a moment"

The young girl gazed up at the main household to see if anyone from the household went back, even for a brief moment. She stood near the tree next to the hedge when she heard Alphonse's voice,

"You would love this badge Julia, it has the same colour of those gorgeous eyes of yours" Al flirted

"You should definitely show me then Alphonse. Could you show it now pretty please" Julia asked cutely.

Winry just rolled her eyes at the Red head. "As you wish madam" Al said humouredly.

This was her chance to say good bye to him and well tell him how she felt. She peeped through the open gaps of the hedge and saw him walk towards the main house. She just had to wait a minute or two and go.

Al walked towards the house when Ed's arm grabbed his shoulder. "Where you off too champ?" Ed said sceptically.

"Julia wants me to show her my Polo badge. Shooting up to get it" Al explained

"Why don't you let me get it? You and Julia looked like you were having a good chat"

"Thanks brother! You know I should take Julia to the solarium and bring champagne. Leave the pin out there would ya?"

"Yea yeah whatever. Just be careful with putting those Champagne glasses in your pants pockets, you might just one day sit on them."

"I've done it with ease before; I don't want to particularly get caught by father by carrying the glasses out in the open."

"Daddy's boy" Ed teased

"Mom's prodigy" Al countered

The older Elric headed towards the house when his father stopped him for a brief moment "Looks like your brother may be interested in this girl" Hohenheim humoured.

"He is interested by every pretty girl it's just the case of how long. But if things go well between him and the Crichton girl, I may have a business opportunity" Edward thought out loud.

"It has been what five minutes and you're on about the business again" Hohenheim rubbed his temples.

Edward ignored the remark and went on to his brother's room. He reached the second floor and opened his brother's jacket closet looking for the damn blazer that held his polo badge.

While he looked the young girl started walking towards the house, ever since she was a little girl she learned to memorize the whole Elric estate. Winry had to for her games of hide and go seek with the boys back when things were easy, sincere and enjoyable. The memories were still fresh, she recalled the one time when the boys had their first fist fight over whom she was to marry. To her humour Al won the fight. She arrived to the stairs and memories flooded back to when these stairs were one of the most deadly area's in the house when they were small. They would always fall down and limp their way back to the infirmary.

Winry glided up the stairs letting her fingers graze the railings, the mahogany wood still looked polished and new. At the top she dragged her feet to the nearest door to the right which was Alphonse's room. She walked in and her view was blocked by the closet door, she stood there though realising what she was wearing and turned red from embarrassment. She decided to just stand by the bedroom doorframe and say what she needed to say.

"Hello"

The figure stopped what he was doing to look and see Winry.

"Don't move! Or say anything, I just need to say something." she urged. The figure complied and listened.

She inhaled deeply. "I'm going away to Paris tomorrow and I realized something I was selfish enough to ignore… when I go, nothing will change here. Everything will go on as if it did yesterday or the day before that. I wish it weren't true but this world complies with rules. So I want to ask you if you would notice. Or even go as far as missing me, selfish I know but I need to know"

She had not expected who was to come out the closet.

"We will notice you know" Edward sincerely said.

"Edward?!" Winry gasped. "I… uh.. I'm so sorry!" she stumbled.

His eyes locked on her t-shirt and started chuckling; he gazed up at her shocked confused face. His lifted his eyebrow and realized the question she posed on him wasn't actually him. "Expecting someone else?"

She mumbled a yes but fiddled with her fingers. He smiled and shook his head at the blonde he took the badge off the jacket he found and walked past her by the doorframe. He did stop and gave her a farewell.

"You know at least 98% of the estate won't just notice you're gone, they'll miss you for sure. Have a safe trip, and bring an Eifel tower key ring for me" he humoured and he left.

Winry watched him walk the down the hall with awe. She didn't really talk to Edward that much since he took over the company after his mother died and his father was diagnosed with cancer. He had to immediately take on the business for his father. Next thing before she knew it, Hohenheim retired leaving the whole Elric industry on his shoulders. Her and Edward occasionally chatted when he returned from Harvard and well they were like siblings when they were children same with Alphonse.

Yet by the time she turned 14 she knew she was head over heels for the youngest Elric brother. He was her obsession for over 7 years and the whole estate employees were the only ones who saw it. Her favourite friend Paninya the maid always listened to her go one about how terrific Alphonse was or how great he looked that day and Paninya always go on about how to attract men in Spain, her home country. It usually ended up with lots of red lipstick, which made Winry so embarrassed.

Winry slowly walked back to the cottage her and her gran have been living in for about 15 years. It has been long indeed. Now that some major changes were occurring, Winry just has no clue how to react to it. Going to Paris for 7 months that is a leap of courage and the fact that she will be in a place without her grandmother, without the English language and with a clean slate she can't process the whole ordeal within her last night in America.

And what is bothering her most is being away from Alphonse. Now that Alphonse is 21 and eligible for marriage, Winry will be out of his hair and out of mind while he might be finding a suitor while she's doing heaven knows what. At one point she thought the Elric's suggested this trip; while in actual fact Pinako knew the reality of being an Elric and as she did what she had always done, protecting her beloved granddaughter.

She was taking her time getting to her cottage; her mind had been soaring into space of the next day's event. Maybe it was a good idea to get her mind off Alphonse, I mean she needs to go and see some adventure. Alphonse after school did so and she thinks he's perfect for doing so. She was walking near the solarium and bumped into none other than Alphonse.

"Sorry Winry, was spacing out while I was walking" Alphonse apologised.

"Oh no don't worry, it was partly my fault too."

"Alright then, have a good night Winry" he bid her farewell

"Goodbye Alphonse" Winry smiled and waved

"Yeah see ya"

* * *

It was particularly bight in Paris compared to back in New York. It was just as busy though the street were filled with many businesses and people, all that was really different from New York was that Winry didn't hear an ounce of English since she arrived. Now she did know French but may be a bit slow since she never used it much in America, being from England she was obligated to learn it instead of Spanish.

Winry was not to loiter around while in Paris, she got a great word in form Mr Hohenheim Elric to work at big companies she wished to work at. Winry went over her options on which job will help her grow as a young woman. She then chose a company she wouldn't have given a second glance a few weeks ago. Vogue.

Winry was sitting outside her new employer's office watching young beautiful women stroll pass. She definitely felt she didn't fit in with her baggy jeans and hoodie making her body look three times her size. Her employer's office door was glass and she noticed her boss was speaking to two other attractive French employees, gazing back at Winry with a uncertain look on their faces as they continued talking to her boss.

Winry then noticed they were done talking and her boss was walking out the office towards her opening the door with a friendly smile.

"Welcome to Vogue Winry. You speak French no?"

"Uh yes, oh sorry I meant Wee Wee" she laughed nervously.

Another lady whom was speaking to her employer came out and pointed to Winry to indicate for her to follow. She guided her to a room with clothing, shoes and products. The lady was speaking very fast in French of what was what in the room and the procedures that occur before every photo-shoot.

She then said they were going to a photo-shoot to discuss what Winry was to do on set for the models, props and for the photographer. This was chaos; Winry had been running up and down from different tasks form getting the model her accessories to helping the technician move wires and switching on the fan and getting another model her contact lenses. Winry decided to give the model her contacts then she went to put the fan on to see if it was working. Everything backfired when the fan came on and blew the models contact off her finger while putting it on. Everyone was on the floor looking for the contact, Winry had taken a small step forward and everyone heard glass break.

Things are not going as she planned that day… until her boss pulled her aside. Her name was Gracia and she was such a gorgeous woman, she was a soft and gentle spoken woman as well.

"Winry its okay, it's only been your second day here. You will find your way around here then you'll be invincible." She smiled "besides miss Maria Ross is only torturing you because I tortured her when she was the intern. It's only her turn and it'll be yours soon" she winked at the blonde.

"Oh before I forget here is a present for you to welcome you to France" she handed her hair formula to hair growth. Winry look up at the smiling woman.

"Your grandmother told me you have never had long hair, I would like to see a new you before you go back to America"

* * *

"So that's what happened"

Her grandmother was beside herself after hearing the day her Granddaughter has been through.

"And I have a feeling the whole of France thinks I'm an idiot" Winry frustratingly sighed.

"I think you're over exaggerating. You haven't met the whole of France yet." Pinako joked.

Winry groaned at her grandmother's humour. Pinako then spoke to her seriously "But really, Winry its only been a week since you have been gone. Things will get into the swing of things and you're on a new adventure away from home, getting a new view of the world, new friends, and not constantly thinking about you know whom."

But Winry couldn't, while her gran was talking she gazed up at the photo of Alphonse she put on her board where she'll pin all her memories and agendas on. 'This is for the best' her grandmother's words echoed in her mind when she bid farewell on the phone.

* * *

Four months later Winry was going to be experiencing what Vogue was all about. That day they were using water, more advanced though. The catalogue was on fashionable rain coats. Specially designed little sprinklers were attached to the models; one model looked like water was sprouting out her fingertips the other models had similar attachments and others stood near the modified fountain that looked so graceful and harmonious.

Winry stood behind the photographer Monsieur Greed. He was summing things up for the afternoon when he asked Winry something while taking his last photo "Have a drink with me" he said in his rich accent.

Winry wasn't sure if he was talking to Maria Ross but then turned to her waiting with a smile on his face. She pointed towards herself for certainty, he nodded, she smiled.

He took her to a very cute bistro where they could see the Eiffel tower. Monsieur Greed was a charming young man, he spoke to her with such detail about France and how she will never want to leave, he spoke about how he got to be a photographer at Vogue at such a young age. She was smiling like an idiot while he told her these stories. One thing led to another and Monsieur took the blonde to a French nightclub where she danced her soul out.

When she arrived home she gazed at her board filled with bits and pieces she got from French magazines, a few photos of her and her new French friends and still hanging there was Alphonse's poster photo. She ruffled her longer hair from thinking of where to put her next item. She was going to put the clubs poster on the board and put it next to Alphonse's photo … she hesitated putting it next to the picture ad finally put it on top of the photo taking up a third of the big picture.

* * *

Back in America early in the morning Edward was about to leave to Elric tower with Pinako until his brother ran outside in his boxers holding a tennis racket

"Ed hold up for a minute."

"Dear lord what in the world are you doing" Edward groaned

"Never mind that I have to ask a favour" Al asked. Edward nodded for him to continue.

"Well my girlfriend and I have been seeing each other for two months now and I was wondering if we could have her over here for dinner, dad said I could get the go from you first."

Ed looked sceptical and his brother moan at the face he makes when he wants to say no.

"I just think it's a waste of time if you're not serious with the girl." Ed reasoned.

"But I want to be. Ed she's not like the other girls she is funny and smart, paediatrician actually. I think she might be the one Ed.

"Okay fine Al what's her name again?"

"Crichton. Julia Crichton, she told me you might know her brother

Ashley"

"Crichton as is Crichton technologies?" Ed said sounding surprised.

"That's the one" Al said while playing with his ball and racket.

"Alright then. Okay I got to go, see you later." Ed jumped into the car winding down the window to look at his brother.

"Since when did you work on Sunday's Ed?" Al asked

"It's Wednesday Alphonse…"

* * *

It was Friday evening and the Elric family were going to dine with Alphonse's new 'serious' girlfriend

"Well hello miss Crichton! When my son said you were a beauty he wasn't kidding." Hohenheim slowly approached the red head to hug her.

"Oh dad, she's my girlfriend you ol' tiger" Al joked.

The dinner went on fantastically to Al's disposition. They were about to eat desert until Julia's hospital pager went off.

"I'm so sorry, I have to go. A patient of mine is going through a bit of a state right now."

"That's a shame" Hohenheim frowned.

"Al why don't you go with her, leaving a woman alone at night is certainly a crime" Ed nudged.

Al smiled at his brother and then to Julia "If you're fine with it"

"Of course"

…

Alphonse had been waiting almost an hour for his girlfriend and had resorted to playing his most addictive game on his phone 'flappy bird' **(AN I hate that game so much for being addicting) **until he saw her come back with her doctors jacket on.

"I'm so sorry Alphonse. I'm sure you were bored."

"Not at all but I can see your exhausted; what ya say we go to your place and watch some movies unwind and eat all the ice cream we want" he smile and pecked her cheek.

"I'd like that… you are amazing you know" she looked dreamily into his eyes

"You're way too easy on me" Al sighed

"Okay then why don't you marry me?"

"…Okay… why not"

"Don't kid around like that" she said annoyed

"But I'm not. I'm serious Julia. It's something you don't kid about." Al sounded offended

"Then I accept" she agreed to an offer he didn't make.

…

"Why?"

* * *

Ed was fast asleep in his apartment, being at his age you wouldn't think a 22 year old young man would own a 50 million pent house but he did and he enjoyed the peace. Until…

"ED!" *BANG BANG*

Now his brother knew better than not to wake him up at this hour but he guessed something went wrong with Julia. Ed rolled himself out his bed and walked to the door scratching his belly.

He opened it to see his brother huffing from running or something.

"How you get past the guard by the gate" Ed yawned

"He saw my face, we do look alike you know" Al walked in talking nervously fast.

Ed wasn't fazed by his brother's panicking. In fact he was sure he didn't hear half of what he was saying, but who could when the kid spoke 100 miles per hour. Ed decided to concentrate for at least 15 minutes or else this was going to take FOREVER. Ed grabbed his brother from his frantic pacing.

"Alphonse breathe! Just stop and breathe!" Edward shook his brother out of panic.

Al drew a big breath and let it out slowly, and repeated the process till his heart rate slowed down. He finally looked at his brother and muttered thanks.

"Good now tell me what happened"

"Julia kind of made me… propose…" Al said sounding unsure.

"And that's a problem because…?"

"I'm not ready!" Al yelled "I'm not sure I can do it"

Al walked over to the couch and buried his face in his hands and groaned "I honestly don't see what the problem is Al. As I recall you said she is 'the one'."

Al did look up to see his brothers serious expression, he did say it and mean it. The only thing that freaked him out was that if he married Julia, he might fall out of love with her and regret what 'could have been' or 'should have been'. What if he wasn't with his soul mate in the end? But he had a good feeling about Julia; she was kind and smart and she accepted Alphonse for who he was and not for what his family made him out to be.

"Maybe this isn't such a bad idea. No actually this is a great idea!" Al happily psyched himself up.

"Easy there tiger. Glad this all worked out" Ed patted his back.

"Why are you so happy about this?" Al asked sceptically

"Well since you asked… I spoke to her brother the other day to tell him how well your guys relationship was going. We got chatting and we got to a great partnership option between the Elric's and the Crichton's."

"And when were you planning on telling me?" Al asked angrily.

"Details details Al, what is most important is that your happy with Julia" Ed nervously waved off "Now if you will excuse mw I need to catch up on my sleep" the blonde said while he pushed his brother out the apartment.

* * *

**Well there you go first chapter up! I like to apologise for skipping from different scenes and the POV's but the reason is that the movie did so and I want to sick to that style. Although the story is not in any way a copyright or whatever so that's why I adjusted it to the characters of FMAB. I like to thank Ecmwrites and Jellybeanbubbles for test reading and helping me with the story. Awesome guys don't forget to review!**


	2. I should have noticed

**New chappy yay! I want to ease everyone's mind by saying this fic is EdxWin centric and only a little AlxWin is seen, also that if you guys would be so awesome as to review.**

* * *

She loved Paris. She had never felt this feeling of excitement and contentment shown at once. She was home. It took 4 months for her to realize that this had been the adventure she so needed. She just was a tad sad to the fact she only had 2 weeks left in Paris. She couldn't shake off how unbelievable it was that it had been almost 7 months since she left home.

While walking on Champs-Élysées avenue the blonde held tight in her grip a very special gift from her dear friend Monsieur Greed, a simple camera that had been filling an ambition of dreams for her to return to America with. She adjusted her view through the camera lens to capture her last memento of the France experience. The Arc of Triomphe did look beautiful in the night but Winry couldn't stay in that part of Paris for too long since she can't afford half the things sold on Champs-Élysées avenue. As she walked back into town she went into a small bistro.

While see sipped her Latté she gazed at a man reading the paper and noticed the contents where English. It had been strange to see English around Paris since she had arrived. She pulled her long hair in a high pony and called the waiter over to ask for a paper of her own.

She obtained a newspaper and Froze. She stared at the front page of the paper, tear droplets falling onto the main picture.

"_**Long Islands Playboy Engaged."**_

"_**Alphonse Elric, youngest heir of Elric Industries, settling down at the mere age of 21 to Crichton technologies princess Julia Crichton."**_

She couldn't even read onwards, the young blonde threw her money on her table and ran out the café. Walking or more like running down to the nearest bus stop, the young woman couldn't breathe between her sobs and tears. Her heart felt like it was stuck in her throat and her legs were going to give in. And much to her pleasing everyone was gazing at her with little concern. She felt like an idiot for trying to run away from her feelings, trying to forget who she was in Paris. Whether she had grown her hair or worn more feminine clothing, she was still Winry. And who Winry was in her own opinion was the chauffeur's granddaughter, and was only seen as that in the Elric's eyes.

Her sobs were becoming softer when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see a warm smile, one a mother would wear,

"Winry what are you doing here crying child?"

"Gracia" she muttered.

"It looks like you need a little heart to heart, no?"

* * *

Winry has always liked Gracia, from day one. She was a perfect mother figure; compassionate, sweet, understanding, firm and respectable. When Winry was found in an emotional state the older woman escorted Winry to her apartment that was just down the road.

It was understandable to think that Gracia lived a comfortable life in a penthouse that costs millions of Euros. No, this woman was living in a family sized modest home. Winry had thought of why a woman like Gracia lived in a home like this. Winry was standing in front of her answer; a smaller version of Gracia looked at Winry with a nervous smile and a big teddy in the crook of her elbow.

It was peculiar to think Gracia has a child with the fact that the woman has no wedding ring on her finger. Winry bent down to the young ones height and gave her a warm smile.

"Hello" Winry softly said.

"Hi… you're pretty" the girl complimented.

"You're so sweet and you're as cute as a button! What's your name?"

The girl put her teddy behind her back and drew circles on the floor with her foot nervously. She mumbled a few Um's until her mother walked to her side and nudged her daughter to speak.

"Elicia Hughes" she said while blushing.

"What a beautiful name, nice to meet you Elicia. My name is Winry Rockbell"

Gracia had now turned to Winry and rested a hand on her shoulder. She figured Gracia was hinting they should go to the living room to speak. Winry sat on the couch and noticed she had a shadow, when she sat down Elicia slowly approached the blonde and whispered in her ear for permission to sit on Winry's lap. Winry hoisted up her new little friend onto her lap and looked up at the young mother who was giggling at her daughter.

"I figured form the state I found you in, you heard some bad news."

Winry gazed at the floor ready to give out in tears again. She sucked up and looked at Gracia again. "Long story short my heart feels like it had been ripped up and scattered about." Winry sighed.

"Oh you mean that Elric boy?"

"How did you-"

"Your Grandmother told me about your little crush before you arrived in Paris"

"That old Hag" Winry mumbled.

"She means well. But you know Winry what your grandmother has told me about this Alphonse fellow is that you two were never romantically involved and that he never even noticed you"

Winry didn't want to hear that, she wanted to be noticed by him but he passed her by as another brother or guy friend. She sniffed a bit and saw a little hand shoot in front of her with a tissue clasped in her small hands. She took it and blew her nose.

"And you know Winry, if he didn't notice you then… well he isn't worth it. You are leaving soon. So next time you see him, show him what he's been missing. Then when that is done, find someone that will always notice you from your lowest point to the highest." Gracia said enthusiastically.

"Easier said than done."

"You'll get there eventually. It takes time to find the right one."

"I don't mean to pry Gracia but do you have a boyfriend or something along those lines" Winry asked nervously.

Gracia wore a sad smile on her "I had a husband"

Winry felt terrible "I didn't mean to-"

"Winry its fine it's been 4 years now, Elicia doesn't remember much of him so it eases the pain and well she is my rock because she's half of him"

Elicia had been looking at her mother with a sad smile knowing exactly what her mother meant. She looked up to Winry who was just about to cry and gave her now older sister a piece of advice.

"He must be a dumb boy for not being with you Win Win."

Winry responded by crushing the girl in a hug and giggling at the remark.

* * *

_Dear Grandmother,_

_Sorry I didn't reply to your last letter sooner, Paris has been good to me lately. Every day I wake up with a sense of purpose and yet I feel home sick._

_That's why I'll be home within 2 weeks, I won't tell you what day because I want to surprise you. I have changed a bit; my hair is really long thanks to Miss Gracia. And well believe it or not I own dresses and skirts. _

_I've taken up a new skill here, when I come back home I'll tell you all about it. I apologise for a short letter but I want to tell you everything when I come back home._

_Love Winry. _

* * *

A jewellery store just 10 minutes away from the Elric estate laid an Alphonse Elric purchasing… it's not what you think, he isn't buying an engagement ring, no he had done that a while back. Tomorrow was his brothers 23rd birthday; Alphonse had gotten his brother a custom made pocket watch. The watch was pure silver and had the family's coat of arms, inside it wrote 'Don't forget mom would be proud, Happy 23rd birthday Brother.'

Alphonse smiled at the well-crafted watch and placed back in the present box. He wrote a check to the jeweller.

Outside the jewellery store a bus had dropped of a young woman with her large suitcase. The young woman had long blonde hair reaching her hip; her skin was light and milky and glowed within the sunshine. She was wearing black RayBan sunglasses hiding her blue orbs from the sun. She wore a light blue sundress which had a V-neckline and thin straps. The dress came up to her knees and showed off her milky coloured legs.

She looked around her and smiled widely taking in the familiar surroundings she missed so dearly. She looked to the left and froze to the site of a car she knew all too well. The red Ferrari was without a doubt Alphonse's. She looked around her to see where he was at.

While she was looking Alphonse stepped out the store and walked towards his car, he saw the beautiful young woman and didn't concentrate on where he was waking and had walked into a pole. The young woman looked in his direction and smiled widely she called to him "Hi… how are you"

He looked behind him to confirm that she was talking to him he turned back to respond "I'm great… um… how are you?"

"I'm good" she said pausing a bit before giggling. "I'm just surprised to see you here" she continued.

He walked a little closer "Well you know me…" she giggled at him. "… don't ya?" she still giggled at him.

"um… do you need lift?" he asked gesturing to the car

"Are you on your way home?"

He hesitated a bit before answering. "… yeah!"

"Well that's convenient." she giggled while speaking; he was dumbfounded that she was well aware of whom he was but he hadn't had the slightest clue whom she was.

"Are you sure you wouldn't mind?" she asked

…

The two were driving toward the estate and he drive to it was a lovely one. To get to the estate it takes a 10 minute drive through a luscious forest, each side of the road consisted on noting but beautiful willow trees. While driving she tied her long hair to prevent it being blown everywhere by the wind due to the fact they were in a convertible Ferrari. Alphonse tried to make out who she was he broke the silence by subtlety asking questions to put together who the woman was.

"You know I uh can't remember the name of your street"

She smirked at her childhood friend for being dense. "Thesauras lane."

He looked at her wide eyed "What? That's where I live!"

"Small world" she giggled.

She noticed he was thinking really hard, she took off her sunglasses and looked at him. "You don't recognise me do you?"

He panicked "Y-yeah I do… you're my neighbour… on Thesauras lane"

She giggled at him "And you're Alphonse"

"I sure am, the lesser Elric son" he joked

"Oh in what way?" she giggled

"In every, but please no pity." He humoured and she laughed out a hearty laugh.

They were nearing the house soon and he tried again to subtly find out who the woman was.

"I could've sworn I knew a pretty girl on the North shore" he flattered

"Oh I'm sure you've taken more territory than that" she humoured

"Ouch" he laughed

"I'm only kidding, but I did find out from somewhere that you are engaged to be married"

"Oh yeah, but we're both really busy people and its hard trying to set date… so come on give me a clue!"

"No no this too much fun!" she said while laughing.

"Please" he whined

She ignored his whining "There's your driveway" she pointed out.

"Oh um would you like to come in for a drink?" he asked

She smirked at him "What a good idea"

The car turned into the long driveway, through the golden gates and past the huge garden she spotted in front of the large house there were multiple trucks, ones she recognised from all other occasions. The Elric were having another infamous party, specifically for the eldest Elric. She remembered the one time Edward asked her to come to his sweet sixteen but she didn't have enough courage to come. Since then she regretted doing so, the only party she was invited to and probably the last.

The car stopped next to one of the trucks and the two jumped out the car.

"Looks like you're having a party" she commented

"Yeah tomorrow night."

"You guys would throw lovely parties here" she said dreamily

"Oh so you been to one of them?" he asked in excitement.

"Oh no! I would always see the lights from a distance" she dazed off towards the tree she used to sit in. She shook it off "What's the occasion, too late for an engagement party"

"Um no actually my fiancé is in California for business. The party is for my brother's birthday, but you probably knew that." He joked. He put his hand on her shoulder "Listen the party starts at 7… would you come?" he asked gently.

She looked up at him a bit saddened "Do you really want me too?"

"Very much… if you would just tell me who you are."

"Hey Winry." another voice said.

The two turned to see Edward getting a file out a car.

She turned to Ed and smiled to him "Hi Edward"

Alphonse thought he heard wrong he turned back to Winry and said unbelievably "W- W-Winry?"

"How was Paris?" Ed asked

"It was great thank you"

"Winry?" Alphonse said louder

"You look all grown up" Ed complemented.

"Winry!" Alphonse said unbelievably.

"Why does he keep saying that?" Ed asked looking at his brother with a raised eyebrow.

"Um I need to get going, oh Ed this is for you" she went into her handbag and took out a small Eifel tower key ring and placed it in his hand. "I'll collect my bag later, bye!" she then made a swift exit while Ed yelled thanks to her for the souvenir.

Edward looked at his brother confused and flushed; Al looked into the direction she walked. "Al… no" Ed warned.

"What you talking brother, I-"

"No Al" Ed warned again.

Everyone heard of a blonde woman arriving to the estate and instantly knew it was their favourite girl, Winry made it to the kitchen and everyone had yelled surprise. From the family doctor Marco to the Martial arts teacher Izumi, all the employees came as fast as they could to surprise the young woman and gave her hugs and kisses. When everyone left Pinako and Paninya stayed behind

"Chikita! Welcome Home!" Paninya yelled out squeezing the Blonde tight.

"Paninya let me go I need to give you your gift." Winry chuckled.

The Spanish woman let her go and was given a packet, she looked inside and it was a piece of finest clothing she had ever seen.

"A real French scarf you always whined you never had" Winry pulled the material and tied it around her friends neck.

"Gracias Winry!"

Paninya hugged her once more before she had to return to her duties. Winry spun on her heel and gave her grandmother the biggest smile she had ever pulled. Out of the whole Estate, even surpassing Alphonse, Winry missed her Gran the most. Pinako smiled at her silly granddaughter and opened her arms wide,

"Welcome home" without a second to spare Winry was on her knees hugging her grandmother crying her eyes out.

"I missed you so much" Winry sobbed.

"No no no! I don't want tears! Wipe those away and tell me everything. Letters have no comparison to this face telling me her greatest adventure."

Winry laughed, the two went over their cottage and Winry was showering her Gran with presents. Winry had gotten the best Whiskey and tobacco, including a pipe. While she was unpacking Pinako saw a folder and peeked to see beautiful pictures.

"Who took these?" she asked sounding impressed.

"I did" Winry blushed.

"You are so full of surprises… you know this is how I pictured my Granddaughter, I'm glad you finally saw it yourself"

"What, not looking like a male?" Winry humoured.

"I don't care how you look and you know it. I was talking about how happy are. And you're acting like independent woman, runs in the family I see." Pinako chuckled and Winry rolled her eyes.

Winry took out her clothes and lined up her party dresses to decide which one to wear tomorrow night.

"What are you doing?" Pinako asked.

"I'm picking out a dress for tomorrow night."

"Going out with friends already I see." She winked at Winry

"No I'm doing to Ed's party tomorrow" she corrected.

"… Who invited you?" Pinako asked seriously.

Winry paused and gulped, she knew what her gran would say and she honestly didn't care "Alphonse"

Her gran didn't say anything, she just gave her granddaughter a sceptical look, she was about to open her mouth to speak but Winry interrupted,

"Granny please, I promised myself a 1000 times that if I were invited I'd go. I can't break that promise again."

* * *

Walking towards the garden gates Winry walked past the oh so familiar tree. Tonight she was determined to show Alphonse she had changed and for once have a fun time on the estate.

The blonde had her hair down and curled, with some pieces of her golden locks plated, and a white and pink cosmos flower clipped in. She wore a teal cocktail dress, the dress had two layers and reached her knees, the dress had a veil like material over the satin under layer making the dress look very fairy like and the veil material was longer at the back. The dress had a baby doll waistline and was an A-line sweetheart with spaghetti straps and to finish the outfit she wore silver peep toe heels.

_**(Here's the link for the dress –**_ _** images/search?q=kissyaustraila+images+product+bling-bling+chiffon+a-line+sweetheart-sleeveless-natural-waist-high-+low-formal-cocktail-dress-87-6&FORM=HDRSC2#view=detail&id=324AA210433593AB01585025CB82107A68AA4C3F&selectedIndex=0 **__**)**_

Winry sucked in a large breath and walked into the venue. It was the usual venue for every party they held which was the garden. When she first arrived at the estate when she was a young girl she noticed that this piece of the huge garden had a wooden floor. Confused at the site she slowly understood that the Elric's rarely had indoor parties in summer. The girl would sometimes sneak out and dance on the polished wooden floor; she tapped her feet on the floor creating a beat for herself before she would twirl and jump. Growing up she noticed how a simple floor would draw so many people to it, despite the bar been only a few steps away from it. When entering she remembered when they built a stage near the dance floor too and not too long after that a gazebo for the dinner tables to be set under it. Everything developed so fast and extravagant that Winry couldn't grasp that it started from a wooden floor.

Various eyes looked towards her but her eyes were looking for Alphonse. He was wearing blue jeans with a white dress shirt. Now that Winry thought about it was very casual, she then looked around and all the guests, besides Ed and Al's dad and his friends, most of the guests were in their 20's. It made her happy that Ed wouldn't be the type to throw the parties his father would throw.

She saw Al finish his conversation and starting to walk up to her. He smiled so brightly at her and stopped in front of her.

"You look amazing" he complimented.

She blushed and smirked "You don't look too bad yourself" he responded with a chuckle and offered her his arm.

They walked to the dance floor waiting for the hired band to play. Winry lost her breath when she saw none other than Patrick Stump lead singer of Fall Out Boy.

Alphonse chuckled at her reaction "Ed didn't want a party unless they played"

"I'm glad he's so stubborn." She squealed

"I'm not their biggest fan since they never have songs you can slow dance too." Al winked at her.

She snorted at his flirt "I think the band would rather swallow worms than writing a slow song. I like them for that, although… there is one song" she wondered.

"Which one" Al asked curiously.

"Grand Theft Autumn- where is your boy. But only if it's the acoustic version."

"Can't remember that one" Al shrugged. "But if that song plays no one else is going to dance with you accept me" Al continued.

Winry blushed at the command; she peeked at the band again and saw Ed talk to them. _'Lucky bastard'_ she thought. Winry was a huge fan of theirs without a doubt.

It's funny she couldn't help but to smile at Ed's excitement of meeting the band. She recalled the first time they got their album when he was 12 and she and Al where 11. All three of them snuck out to town to get 2 copies, she had never seen Mrs Elric so angry when they returned. She scolded Ed for him being the oldest and 'influencing' Al and her to sneak out with him. She let it passed but the following day she had been disturbed by the blasting stereo in Ed's room. Since that day she had never missed buying their cd's. Al never did but his brother was just as obligated as Winry.

Ed finished talking to them and the band opened up with 'Where did the party go?' She turned to Al to drag him to the dance floor near the stage. The crowd followed except a few including Ashley Crichton and Hohenheim Elric.

"Who's that over there with my sister's fiancé Hohenheim?"

Hohenheim's eyes drifted to his son with a very beautiful woman, he panicked at the site of his son flirting with a woman who _wasn't _his fiancé. He focused on who the girl was and his mouth went dry at the realization of who she was. He looked at Ashley and coolly responded.

"Oh her, she is Winry Rockbell, my sons' childhood friend."

Ashley raised his eyebrow at the answer. "Just a childhood friend ey? Its convenient she's here when my sister is out of town."

Hohenheim tried to cut all his speculation "That's a great word for it since young miss Rockbell had recently arrived back from Paris, Ed and Al do need to catch up you know."

"Well I hope Edward gets a fighting chance." Ashley said dryly.

Hohenheim searched for Edward for support, he looked back to his youngest son who was holding the young lady in an unacceptable manner. Ashley coughed for attention.

"I have a sister and we don't dance like that…" Ashley said angrily.

While Hohenheim was struggling, Ed looked his direction and was indicated to look at his younger brother. Ed growled at the scene he walked up to his friend Roy, also VP of Elric industries, and asked him to go calm down Ashley.

Alphonse was on cloud nine, the blonde had made him delusional and dysfunctional. He never felt like this around Julia or with any woman he'd been with. He needed to get her alone away from other men's eyes. He managed to pull her aside to speak to her in a region where he could hear her, they walked to the side of the bar.

"Winry I don't think you know what you done to me" he blurted.

He stared at him wide eyed and shocked, she tried to speak before he interrupted. "Why didn't I notice you before? If I had-"

"Why didn't you then?" she interrupted.

"Because I was too stupid to notice." He said sincerely.

She frowned and stared at the ground. She knew what she had to tell him and she couldn't delay it any further. "Listen Alphonse, there's something I need to tell you"

"So do I, but-" he gazed around and noticed some where watching "-we can speak in the solarium"

He grabbed her hand and headed that direction before he was halted by Edward's assistant Riza Hawkeye "Alphonse sorry to interrupt but I need to briefly come with me"

Alphonse knew his family wanted him and he couldn't avoid them, he turned to Winry who looked extremely confused. "I'll meet you there in a few." She nodded and he went with the dark headed man to the house.

Once in father's old home office he saw his brother and fathers matching scowls. Ed was furious, and he just about never sees his father frown never mind scowl like his brother.

His father was the first to speak "Alphonse what in the world are you doing?"

Alphonse couldn't act dumb; he knew what his father meant. Before he could answer Ed added his comment "Al, this is by far one of the most idiotic things you have done and that's coming from me. You know your fiancés brother is here tonight but you insist on showing him you're unfaithful."

"What do you want me to say brother? I don't think I can go through with Julia anymore." Al confessed.

"Why now son, you ignored Winry for years and now that's she's grown her hair out and wearing a dress you decide to throw away a good relationship with Julia." Hohenheim said rashly.

"It's not that, I never wanted to get married okay, she basically made me propose. And you too already are invested in our marriage before it even happened! This whole merging company's thing was low and a dangerous move." Al was fuming now, like his father he never gets upset.

"We never pushed you into this relationship Al. As you recall I only spoke to Ashley after you two got serious, and you got engaged before I told you about the merge. Don't pin this on dad and I. Beside the point, what you doing to Winry is cruel. So like dad asked 'Why now?' you never took interest before, if you had we wouldn't be here." Hearing Ed lecture Al was different to say the least, Al had always been the reasonable brother and the one always lecturing Ed with stupid mistakes he makes. Al didn't know how to respond, he was confused about the matter himself.

"I had enough, Winry's waiting for me." Al tried to escape but Ed extended his arm to stop him.

"Let's just stop and think for a moment Al. Take a seat" Ed gestured the Arm chair. Al moaned and then sighed, when he sat down he moved the chair a few inched back. Before he knew it an Amor suit came falling down and collided into Al and knocked him out cold.

Hohenheim was momentarily frozen until he snapped towards Ed "I can't believe you did that"

Ed tugged on the suit to get it off his brother "He was being irrational, stopped gawking at me and call a medic" he turned towards the door and called Riza in to look after his brother until the medics arrived.

Ed then made his way to the solarium.

Winry loved the Solarium; it was by far her favourite place on the estate because the room reminded her of the first day she arrived at the estate. She would escape the watchful eye of her grandmother and the other employees, the solarium was like a dream she'd return to when reality had been cruel on her.

At night the inside was more than a dream it was paradise, the nocturnal plants always opened and would glow in the moonlight such as the Moon flowers or the Casablanca Lilies. There were also white Christmas lights on the borders of the solarium from the sided borders to the roof.

Winry sat on the bench waiting for the younger Elric to arrive so she can tell him what she needed too. She heard the door open and jumped up and looked to a man she didn't expect. Her mouth went dry at the thought of being confronted so soon by Al's brother of father because of his 'friendliness' tonight.

"Expecting someone else?" he smirked.

She remembered that line but decided she wasn't going to mumble like before so instead she cheekily replied "Yes actually. So why are you here?"

He rolled his eyes at her tone. "Al had an accident" he stated

Her eyes shot open wide like a deer in headlights, before she could say anything he assured her "He's fine, he's on his way to a doctor but he ask me to give you company." He lied

She looked at him sceptically and was about to deny the offer before she heard,

"_Where is your boy tonight I hope he is a gentleman, maybe he won't find out what I know. You where the last good thing about this part of town"_

She smiled at the song and jumped a bit when Ed extended his hand for a dance. The acoustic guitar played into a medium pace then slowed down to the gentle plucking of the strings. She looked up to Ed's face that had a genuine smile plastered on it

"It is my birthday ya know, can I at least have one dance. It would mean a lot if the person who bought my first Fall Out Boy cd with me could share a dance to my favourite song on that album"

She gave him a sweet smile and gave her hand to him and they slowly danced into the rhythm of the song,

She giggled a bit before telling Ed what she promised Al "I was really not supposed to dance with anyone else for this song"

Ed 'psssh'ed at the ridiculous promise. He looked down at her face which was blushing at the contact of them dancing. When the song ended she sighed and pulled away and put on a serious look.

"Why are you really here? Maybe to pay me off."

"Excuse me?" Ed raised an eyebrow.

"Like in the movies. The family lawyer comes to the waitress or 'chauffeurs granddaughter' and offers her 10 000 dollars to stay away from the family's son. But she says no…"

"How about 100 000?" he asked seriously.

Her blue orbs were wide from surprise she answered slowly "No"

"A million" he looked her straight in the eye and she couldn't put words together of what he said. "No self-respecting lawyer would offer less" he continued.

She gulped and looked him in the eye "No self-respecting waitress would take it"

He smiled at her "Good girl"

The two turned to the direction of the music. The song playing Ed mumbled 'Ironic' under his breath.

"_I don't know where you're going but do have room for one more trouble soul? I don't know where I'm going but I don't think I'm going home and I say, I'll check in tomorrow if I don't wake up dead. This is the road to ruin and we're starting at the end. Say yeah! Let's be __**Alone Together**__..."_

It was his favourite song currently and he shifted his gaze on Winry who was mouthing the words. He smiled at her and turned to her staring into her blue pools. They both weren't thinking, the two were being pulled in like gravity. She closed her eyes when their noses brushed each other. Her smell was intoxicating, so sweet and subtle but it hit him like a ton of bricks. One wiff would make any man crazy. That's when he closed the gap; he took in the senses of touch, scent and taste. The kiss was chaste but sweet at the touch; it didn't take long before she licked his lips for entrance which he submitted too. He raised his hand to gently hold her face on the side, the contact made her retract.

She blinked at the realization of what happened and looked up at golden orbs. She raised her hand and slapped the golden hair boy. It was impulse; she didn't want to do that. In fact she felt like grabbing him again and proceeding on. She realized her false impulse and panicked

"Oh I'm so sorry!" she covered her mouth from shock and walked to his side to caress his face.

"Is that how you treated all men in France. I feel sorry for them." He joked holding his face.

"I'm so sorry Ed it was an impulse. But you did deserve it" she defended.

"Then I should give you one too for leading it on" he argued.

Her cheeks flushed at statement. But she angrily walked away and waved a half-hearted goodbye

Ed walked out too not long after she left, but he had to wonder how he was going to keep her away from Al when he wakes up tomorrow.

* * *

**Whew! Writing about the party was hard! And the last scene with Ed and Winry was fun to write. Hoped you all enjoyed just remember to review please. **

**And just for some who don't know much about Fall Out Boy. All the songs mentioned in here were taken from their first album which was 'Grand theft autumn- Where is your boy tonight' (The acoustic version was the song Ed and Win slow danced too), to their last which was 'Where did the party go' and 'Alone together.' The Albums were 'Take this to your Grave' and 'Save Rock and Roll'. I love FOB and wanted to incorporate their songs into a fic and I thought Grand theft autumn- Where is your boy tonight was perfect for Ed and Winry's slow dance scene.**

**Thank for tolerating my big author notes. Again please review and thamks for reading!**


	3. Rekindling what you meant to me

**Oooooh gosh I'm so sorry viewers for not updating. This story is particularly hard to write because they are quite lengthy per chapter. Hopefully this story will be 25k, which will then be my record. My largest story would be 'One kiss leads to trouble' and that's about 16k I think.**

**Just to clear the air, I know this story isn't that popular because of the OCC-ness. But trust me its character development, like I only started to really bring Ed initially in the picture and you'll see more rashness, stubbornness and sensitivity on the height. As for Al I did explain he appears to be a playboy because the girls confuse his friendliness with flirting, when he wants to flirt you'll see for sure in this story. And not to mention his irrational conversation with Ed in the last chapter which I don't think is OCC if you watched how he was in the 2003 anime.**

**I hope I don't sound too defensive, cause I really don't want to explain my reasons but I don't want to make the story un-pleasurable fir you guys. Oh and sorry for confusing some of you with some scenes, I'm not really good at the elaboration of the scenes more than putting in dialog. I wasn't giving any specific scenes that are confusing so I can't really fix it. Help a sista out guys.**

**Long AU sorry and one more thing a review would be fan-flippin-tastic to get me motivated for the next chapter.**

* * *

Winry played the scene countless times in her head, that night in the solarium haunted her in the most fantastic way. She thought she was in a dream for the reality is that Edward, Edward Elric was not a man who would never do something like that. From the dancing to the flirting to…. the kiss. I didn't add up especially if we're talking about Ed here.

What she remembered of him before heading off to college at such an early age was that he was utterly and completely rude to everyone except mother and brother, sometimes her if he wasn't in a crappy mood. The one scenario she remembered the clearest is when she was helping her gran in the garage with some of the Elric cars, her gran had to leave her for a few minutes. As soon as she did Edward stomped in so mad she thought she saw steam come out of his ears. Winry assumed he came in unaware that she was there. She saw him step into Ed's father's new Audi he just bought and started it up. Winry still staring remembered Ed was only 14 and she immediately jumped from her place and marched to the car tapping the window. He looked up surprised but then frowned winding down the window.

"What are you doing?" she asked sounding angry.

He just gave her a funny look on his face which was a mix between anger and annoyance "Wow you British folk aren't very bright. What does it look like I'm doing, I'm going to drive."

She hated those stupid British insults. She sighed out of annoyance "Wow you're the idiot to think you're going on a joy ride without a licence."

He cut the engine off and glared at her "I'm an Elric I won't get into trouble okay, don't get your nickers in a twist Gearhead."

She glared back. She wasn't going to back down "Listen up '_Prodigy boy_' I don't care if you are an Elric or whether or not you get in trouble. You might get hurt you idiot and then you won't look so smart anymore right?" she mocked.

His frown turned into an scowl "Stay out of it Winry, its none of your God damn business. Go fix a car instead of bugging me." And he turned on the car again.

She was hurt to say the least, Ed has never been that rue to her before. As a young lady Winry couldn't hold the tears. She started to cry.

"Hell…" he muttered and switched off the engine again. "Why are you doing that?" he asked in an annoyed voice. She just kept sobbing. He ran his hands through his shaggy hair and rephrased his question and changed his tone "Why are you crying Winry?"

She tried to stop but managed to tell him "I don't know why you're so upset but whatever it is, I'm just crying for you. If it means you won't go and hurt yourself I'll cry as long as I need too."

He sat there silently while she was still crying. He sighed and climbed out the door and patted her head which was above him and walked to the door "You don't need to cry for Me." was his last words before leaving.

She remembered that day like it was yesterday. She remembered how the hot tears felt on her cheeks and most of all she remembered how pained Ed looked when she started crying. And since then she always thought to herself that maybe just maybe he promised himself he didn't want to make her cry again. Maybe it was all in her head or maybe she was wishing for a tiny spot in Ed's guilty conscience.

It had been a week since Ed's party, Alphonse cozening up to her, then Alphonse's accident and rushed to the hospital, and then her and Ed dancing… kissing…

She shook her head to regain composure, today she was going to visit Al since he was put into his room with a nurse for another 2 weeks or so. His head was knocked pretty bad and for all the time she had known Al, she knew he hated pain. That meant he was really drugged with painkillers. She crossed one of the front gardens to the main house. She looked very summery with the violet sundress she wore and half her hair up in a pony. She definitely turned very girly since Paris. She entered the main lobby of the house and kept her eyes on the floor while she walked which was clumsy of her since she walked into someone.

"Winry you're being an airhead more than a gearhead these days."

Oh shit. The last person she wanted to bump into. No pun intended.

"I'm neither _Prodigy boy_" she brushed past him.

Without an insult back he walked up and blocked her path. "Here to see Al?" he asked.

"Uh yes… why is something wrong?"

He shook his head and pulled a serious expression. "No it's not that, he's just heavily medicated for pain. I don't think he'll hold a regular conversation for more than two minutes."

She frowned a little "It's okay, I just want to see how he is."

Ed nodded in agreement. The two walked upstairs in a uncomfortable silence and reached Al's room. The nurse posted there smiled at the two, Rose was one of the nicest workers at the mansion. Being a personal nurse she usually assisted Hohenheim but he insisted her to look after Al.

"Hi Ed, Winry! Here to see Al?" she asked the obvious.

She opened the door for the two and there was Al, peacefully sleeping. Ed nudged him a little to wake up. Al groggled out of sleep to come into view of the beautiful blonde with a worried look on her face.

"Mmm… Hey there" he said softly.

"Hey champ, how's your head?" she said back softly too.

"Wendy my head feels fuzzy." He groaned.

"It's Winry, don't push yourself. Go back to sleep if you need too."

"How could I sleep? I haven't slept in almost 3 years in this body." Al proclaimed

Winry confusingly looked up to Rose who was giggling.

"He's been hallucinating with the painkillers. He thinks his soul is trapped in that suit of armour that fell on him and concussed him"

Edward didn't laugh but only frowned at the nurse for being unsympathetic to his brother. Winry did smile at the story. 'What a silly story' she thought.

"Sorry you two but you'll have to leave so he can rest up some more." Rose urged.

Winry and Ed stepped out and walked down to the front door, still not talking to another until Winry's curious mouth had to open itself.

"Shouldn't you be at work Ed?" she didn't mean it rudely, but the man usually never comes to the estate before work since his apartment was literally next door to the company. The only times he came before work was to take his dad with if he was up to it. She scratched that off the list since it was 10 am and Hohenheim had already left an hour ago to meet with Roy Mustang.

Edward wasn't stumbled by the question; in fact it looked like he's been waiting for it.

"I was actually here for you"

She blinked, and stared at the golden haired man "Why?"

He opened the door and gestured her to go first, once outside he invited her to walk around the estate. She felt a little hesitant but went with it since her curiosity was screaming at her.

"I heard you developed a new skill in Paris" he said straight to the point, referring to her photography skills she learnt from Monsieur Greed

"If you can call it that." She said to be modest.

"Our family has a small vacation home on the end of the North Shore. Round say an hour and a half drive from here. The house is on Saks Fifth Avenue, very small town. Our family hasn't been there since my mom died and I want to sell it."

She listened very carefully to try pick up where she comes in. She nodded to him to continue.

"I need some professional photos taken of the house and the town… Today"

She looked at him. He wanted to take her to their holiday home to take pictures? Seemed simple enough though.

"I'm not sure they'll be great photos Ed." She bluntly told.

He chuckled loudly, first time today she's seen him smile actually.

"You know Paninya stole some pictures of yours and has been showing the whole estate? Including me, they are pretty impressive for a Gearhead."

She blushed at the compliment but was very mad at Paninya at the same time. She mumbled but Ed couldn't hear her.

"Speak up Winry"

"Fine! I'll do it!" she yelled with bright pink cheeks. Ed couldn't help but laugh

* * *

Being in a car with Ed was more the awkward, it was unbearably uncomfortable. She didn't mind silence, but this was ridiculous. Ed was just doing stuff on his phone and she could only hear the phone bubble sounds when you touch the screen. When she looked out the window it felt like someone was looking at her, she did catch him once but the other times she turned around he'd be gazing at his phone screen.

They only drove for 10 minutes but that felt like forever. They arrived at the Elric's personal airport. Ed told her it was an hour and half drive to the house. And they're going to fly at jet?! She guessed he didn't want to drive for so long. This way they'd be there in 30 minutes.

She's never been on a jet, it was just so polished and perfect…. She just fit into the cushioned plane seat so nicely. Compared to any seat she's been in this one was thee best, and it was on a jet. She'd bet her couch wasn't half as comfy. The way the jet seats were set up is two seats faced each other vertically. They even had a little table in-between the seats.

She buckled herself in, and before she knew it they were in the air. Edward sat in front of her using the plane phone to do a business call. While she was dazing out the window the flight attendant put the water down on the table which brought Winry out of her thoughts. She thanked the woman and saw Ed end his call. He let out an enormous sigh and rubbed his temples.

"You look like you just got your allowance taken away." Winry joked to break the tension.

His hand covered his eyes and forehead but his mouth was still visible and Winry saw a slight smile. He groaned and dragged his hand through his fringe. "Something like that. One of our business partners from Xing and wants to pull out and join another company. The owner is actually a friend and I think he's just pulling my leg. But I can never tell when he wants to be serious."

Winry stared out the window and decided to change the subject for Ed's sake. "So do you have Patrick Stumps number? I would so like a private show sometime. Or at least an autograph from each member."

Ed let out a hearty laugh "Is all you think about Fall Out Boy?"

"I'm just a jealous cow from your party is all. I really wanted to meet them but some peewee sized man beat me to it."

Winry was a pro at diverting the eldest Elric's attention, especially the short card. A small tick mark appeared on his forehead "I'm taller than you you you…" Ed angrily said

"Me me me?"

"I see what you're doing and I'm not falling for it."

"And what am I doing pipsqueak?" Winry said folding her arms and smirking at the blonde across her.

"You want me to react like my immature self would. But I am head of a company here Winry, not some angry clown for your entrainment"

"Just looking at you is entertainment enough Ed. You're one of those short clowns that rides the small bikes and has a _small_ horn."

Ed was holding the outburst but just snapped.

"**Who are you calling so small he couldn't be seen by an ant sized magnifying glass!"**

Winry was canning herself and tried to speak "Oh Ed I missed your outbursts, I haven't heard you make an one in forever."

Somehow the statement made Ed smile. They hadn't really been around each other since he came back from college and he left when he was pretty young. It felt good to be acting a bit childish with his childhood friend. It had been a good 4 years he hadn't seen her when he left for college at 14/15 and even when he came back immediately dove into the business and really hadn't spoken to her as often as he liked, it was like they grew apart. Even though he might not be with her for the right intentions since his ass was hanging on the line with this Crichton Elric merge but it felt right to be her friend again.

The plane started to descend and Winry's eyes sparkled at the sight of the Pacific. Once landed and out of the plane Winry looked around for a car and saw Ed walking off.

"Where you going?" she called out.

"Town's right here. House two minutes away." He stopped to gesture her to follow him. The two walked through the small town and Winry was taking pictures of the cute buildings and secret ones of Ed. They reached the house and it was really small, not in a bad way hell no it was just so cozy and beautiful. It overlooked the sea on the one side and the town on the other side.

She brought out her camera again from her bag and took some pictures of the house outside. Ed nudged her to go inside but it was a little difficult picking her favourite angle.

"Figures you be just obsessed with photography as you are with mechanics." Ed snorted.

Winry rolled her eyes "Aren't you lucky I can't throw my camera at you."

"Do you think I'd be crazy enough to bring you all the way out here to fix a car and bring your devil wrench with?"

Winry nodded in agreement giggling. The two walked inside and Winry took in the vintage furniture and stunning and most of all expensive paintings and artwork, straight awau she got to work and stood in every corner of the room to capture everything

"Umm… how about a sea view picture?" Ed suggested

Winry strolled onto the bulkeny where Ed was standing. She looked along the coat to see a great angle and gazed at Ed getting lost in the scenery.

"Pick an angle for me?" she said handing over her camera. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Um you're here to take photos remember"

She sighed out of annoyance. "I know that. Looking though a camera can help pick a angle and I want you to choose one, WITHOUT taking the picture"

He looked at the camera in her hand and hesitantly took it from her. He looked through the camera looking along the coastline and saw a lighthouse. He handed baack the camera and pointed to the lighthouse. She smiled and started taking the photos.

"Nice eye." She complimented while taking photos.

She put the camera back in the bag and took a seat on the outside bench. Ed planted next to her, it was only 2 o clock.

"Hey lets go into town and see it fully." Ed suggested

Winry's face lit up, he really loved those moments when they were kids and Winry's smile made him and Al's day.

Speaking of their childhood, Ed went to the closet in the house and retrieve two adult sized bikes so they could ride around the town. Starting the bike ride Winry shot off leaving Ed in the dust

"Gearhead wait up! You don't know where you're going!"

* * *

After riding the heck out of those bikes the two were pushing their bikes past the old abandoned fire station.

Winry got excited at the site of the old building and whipped out her camera. Ed smiled to himself of her never changing personality she had when they were young

"Ed can I ask a question?" Winry asked

"You just did" Ed joked and Winry shooting him a 'Really? Don't do that' face. "Shoot"

"Why you selling the home? The real reason, not any finance crap you usually pull. Why don't you guys come here?"

Ed let out a groan and she glared at the reaction "Ah Jeeez Win I don't have time to come down here and have a vacation."

"You have time to go to Hawii."

"For business."

"Right… those photos on facebook tell me otherwise. Now tell me why you really want to sell the house." Winry demanded

He wanted to yell at her, but for what? Caring? He knew that he had a hell of lot of things to say and he especially didn't want to share it with someone who had their own problems to deal with. But looking at her face saw that she didn't give a rats ass because that's who Winry was and still is, someone to help reduce the pain.

"I didn't want to come back because it hurts. Seeing that house, the furniture, the town reminds me of my mom. And our last vacation together."

Her mouth was sealed with embarrassment. How could she forget?! That this was the very symbol of his mom. She gave him a sad look which made his stomach feel uneasy he never did like to see her cry

"Its okay, that's why I'm doing this. To push forward, this is my resolve." He said smiling at her almost to tears face.

She wiped away the few tears that did escape and Ed decided to change subjects. "So why did you take photography? I mean you got master skills in mechanics."

She smiled at the lame compliment "I'm not 100% sure why. I was with Vogues head photographer in the park one afternoon and he just shoved his camera in my face and demanded to find an angle I like and push down on the button. Since then I wanted to capture life from my point of view. I know it sounds cheesy but being a photographer really makes me feel like my own opinion matters in this world, even though I ahow it through a camera lens." She explained while pushing her bike next to Ed's.

Ed nodded at her reason. He wished he could be as passionate with something like that. He jumped into the family business without considering what he wanted to do. As if Winry was reading his mind she asked,

"If you could change your job tomorrow what would it be?"

He looked at her for a while, no one and I mean no one has asked him what he wants to do. And this woman jumps springs it on him without any hesitation. He stopped to look at the sky and murmured "A scientist"

She blinked at the answer "Why?" she asked

"To do the impossible I guess. Who would've thought so many years ago we'd be living like this. That's the progress of science, discovering the wonders of the world. It makes my blood get hot from excitement to think theres more to be found."

She giggled at him, his head snapped to look at her "What?" he asked defensively

"Nothing your such a geek that's all."

"And your film for brains" he counter insulted.

She puched him playfully on the arm. Her face lit up from an idea, a passing an walked passed and she stopped him.

"Excuse me, could you take a photo of us?" she asked guestering to her and Ed

The man nodded and took the camera. Ed groaned loudly and asked "Do I have to? I look terrible in pictures"

She just glared at Ed and he cracked "Okay fine! Jeeez."

The man laughed at the couples actions and clicked the camera twice for reassurance and handed back the camera. Winry smiled at the screen with them on.

It was nearing to 5 o clock and Ed told Winry they should leave so the pilot could go home early to his family. Ed still needed to distract Wirny when they got home though, he knew one thing that could keep Winry occupied.

* * *

When arriving back, Ed asked Winry to go to dinner and said she could pick where to wat which he knew she wouldn't turn down. She chose a Moroccan slash Indian restaurant. Ed felt uncomfortable to say the least. They were sitting on pillows on the floor. When the food arrived there were no utensils. Ed looked extremely confused and looked up to Winry who was eating with her food. She swallowed and giggled at Ed's expresson on his face.

"Its Moroccan idiot, you eat it with your hands"

He blinked at her and look back to his food. He did so to the food by eating it with his hands and Winry watched him take his first bite. When he got most of the food in his mouth, he said with a mouthful.

"I should try this with soup next time"

She went into a fit of laughter and he joined in after swallowing his food. The night proceeded well when Ed insisted on Winry telling her stories about Paris and all the idiotic things she did on her first photo-shoot. Utter embarrassment.

He got a call from his phone and spent a good half an hour trying to shake off a client of the company's. He apologised for it and proceeded onto drinking his whiskey on rocks he persuaded the waiter to get. Winry looked at the irritated look on is face from the phone call.

"Why do you put up with it?"

He confusingly looked at her wondering what she meant. She corrected herself "I mean the company, why do you put up with it?"

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow "Cause I own the company, simple as that."

She frowned "You didn't have to take over you know. You're too young to deal with stress on this level."

"Hell Winry I'm the Heir no one else can do it."

"What about Al?" she asked

"I don't want to do that to him Winry, I want him to live a little."

"Well he does want to help, ever since he was a kid. I see the look in his eyes when you used to come to the house and looked dog tired. He probably feels awful that you're shouldering everything." She said sadly.

"I know he does. But I must shoulder it just for a bit longer."

She gave up on arguing, since his mind was set. She apologised for it and he brushed it off as nothing to worry about. The night had gone on and before they knew it Ed drove her home instead of calling a driver. When he dropped her off he stopped her before going again by asking her,

"When you develop those pictures tomorrow can you come to my office. I 'll set a meeting with you around 4pm alright."

She nodded her head and yawned loudly and waved him off goodbye. Unbeknownst to her she was being watched from the younger Elric's room even though heavily medicated was a bit heart sore from the sight.

* * *

**This took me a good 2 weeks. I now there wasn't a lot of fluffiness here, but the next chapter with be better. I just wanted to showcase on the friendship of Ed and Winry and how it rekindled. **

**Till next time! And leave a review, subscribers and non-subscribers whichever**


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